1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a device for receiving the genital organ of a totally impotent male and positioning it in a simulation of an erection for facilitating sexual intercourse.
2. Description of the Prior Art
In the prior art, various solutions have been attempted to aid impotent males in producing or simulating an erection. One such solution is directed to the teaching that pressure applied in various ways at the base of the penis will obstruct venous return from that organ and thereby facilitate or enhance penile erection. These methods are potentially dangerous or harmful as the pressure can injure vessel walls, the walls of the corpora cavernosum and the urethra, possibly risking the viability of the tissues of the penis.
Other prior art methods teach the use of splint-type devices, with open sides and longitudinally running stiff members usually covered with a rubber sleeve to facilitate erection of the male organ and the ability of the user to penetrate during sexual intercourse. However, if the male is impotent and unable to achieve an erection, the splint device cannot be attached to the penis. Further, the loose skin of the penis has a certain tendency to wrap around the edge of the longitudinal member, which in turn then has an irritating sawing action on the skin. The pinching of the skin is painful and the sawing action can be injurious to the skin.
Still another method used in the prior art teaches use of at least a single longitudinal member with circumferential loops positioned to receive and hold the penis in an erect state. At least one of the devices positions a loop directly behind and against the glans penis in the corona, and if tight enough to hold the penis at length, can produce harm to the underlying skin and to the glans, and if loose enough to avoid this injury, will allow the glans to simply slip through the loop. As mentioned above, if the penis cannot achieve any erection, this device cannot be attached. Additionally, some of the supporting circumferential bands are split longitudinally, ostensibly to permit adjustable, snug application to the penis. These longitudinal slits can trap or pinch the skin of the penis, causing injury to the wearer.
A fourth prior art method is that taught by Wegener, U.S. Pat. No. 3,683,901, which utilizes a hollow cylindrical body having an enclosed extremity and a duct permitting communication between the inside of the hollow body, at a position adjacent to the closed end, and the outside. Additionally, the open end is provided with a circular constrictor which imparts pressure to restrict venus return similar to that above-described for other prior art devices. In the Wegener device, as the penis is inserted into the interior of the hollow body, air is forced out of the interior through the duct, forcing a one-way valve positioned therein to open. Unfortunately, once the penis has reached the duct opening then no further air can be removed since the penis occludes the duct. This leaves a cushion of air distal to the end of the penis, which will expand and contract with the pumping motion of the penis during sexual intercourse, producing the distracting sensation that the organ is going to come out of the device.
Further, the Wegener device assumes that the user must be able to achieve enough penis rigidity to drive the penis through the narrow area of the open end to produce any effective pressure change inside the hollow body and thereby actuate the valve to permit the penis to advance further. An impotent male with a flaccid penis cannot achieve insertion into the Wegener device, since insertion is achieved against a higher pressure of the compressed air in the interior of the device. Also, since the constrictor at the open end is to be tight enough to produce the goals listed above, a totally impotent male can never achieve enough of an erection to introduce the penis through the open end by pushing. Again, such constrictions, as noted before, if tight enough to produce corpora venous obstruction are also tight enough to produce harm to the skin and thereafter the viability of the penis.
Wegener further teaches incorporating a second duct with a one-way valve in the device with the second valve opening to admit air from the outside when too much negative pressure is present inside the hollow body. Indeed, if the user were able to get the device on, he would not be able to get it off if the second duct and valve were not present, and should the second valve fail, the only way to get the device off may be to cut if off at some risk to the enclosed penis.
In a further embodiment, Wegener shows a duct containing a pressure relief valve interposed in the enclosed end of the device, leading from the hollow body to the exterior at the front end thereof. The valve is said to release under pressure of ejaculation during intercourse and the duct will carry the ejaculate to the partner's cervix. However, as above-discussed, the pocket of air present in front of the penis would probably keep the valve from working and the ejaculate would remain in the hollow body and should any escape, the volume of the duct would hold some of the ejaculate thereby reducing the amount delivered to the cervix.
The present invention overcomes the deficiencies of the prior art by providing apparatus for simulating penile erection without injury or discomfort to the user.